Delivery man damaged my property

[Deleted User]

I ordered some collapsible ladders which were delivered by DHL. I was out at the time but was notified by my security camera that someone was on my property. I then received another notification 8 minutes later where I saw the delivery man leaving my property. Confused as to why he was on my property for so long (down my side path), I returned home and found the very heavy boxed ladders 4ft inside my back garden, leant against the wall of my house. My side gate has a top and bottom bolt, so after a minute of being mystified as to how the package had been delivered, I checked on my side gate and found it had been damaged (a support strut had been ripped off, the wood has split at one section  and the gate has dropped significantly, meaning it is now difficult to open and close it). So the delivery man had spent the 8 mins on my property climbing over my side gate (using the package to stand on), unlocked the side gate, moved the package inside and left the gate closed but unbolted/unsecured.

After many calls to DHL who have been completely awkward at every step, even lied about the physical fitness of the driver (which they back-tracked on... this has been going on for 8 months!) they have finally admitted they are liable, but only want to offer to pay for a patch-up. 

Given that I didn’t ask for the delivery man to trespass and damage my gate in the process, is a patch-up an acceptable offer or not?

davidmcn

Depends what you (and they) mean by a "patch-up" really. I wouldn't have thought there'd be much of a difference in cost between a proper repair and a half-ar5ed one. If they've admitted liability then you're probably on safe ground to get it done properly at their expense.

Aylesbury_Duck

Depends what a "patch-up" means.  You aren't entitled to a brand new gate because that would be betterment.  Without seeing the damage I can only guess that a patch-up involves replacing the broken and removed pieces of wood and mounting the gate again so it works properly.  It may be cheaper for them to just replace the gate,  but see what they say first.

hollydays

I once had a bad tempered window cleaner, break my gate when he couldn't open it( he was pulling it instead of pushing it or vice versa) . He later apologised saying he was having a bad day. I just let it go.oh and at the same time my dog Escaped so it wasn't ideal. Is it not likely he's just tried to open the gate then forced it, thinking it was stuck. He was trying to do his job, not an easy job imho, does he not get any credit for at least trying to keep your parcel safe?

[Deleted User]

hollydays,

DHL deliveries are supposed to attempt delivery 3 times (should the recipient not be at home), so no, he wasn’t trying to do me a favour - it was just laziness/not wanting to come back another day. It’s not a good idea to reward stupidity/laziness. Also, he left my property unsecured, so no I don’t feel the need to thank him 😂👍

Aylesbury_Duck

I think you've missed the opportunity to name this thread "DHL-gate".

There's not much hinging on this, so I'd find out what their catch-up involves and get the matter closed. 

[Deleted User]

You would have thought it was an open and shut gate——I mean case 🤷‍♂️

Manxman_in_exile

"Given that I didn’t ask for the delivery man to trespass and damage my gate in the process, is a patch-up an acceptable offer or not?"

Well if they're offering to repair the damage their delivery man caused, I don't see the issue.  Just say "Thanks for finally acknowledging that your driver caused the damage to the gate.  Now that you've admitted liability I want you to put the gate back as it was before he damaged it.  I expect it either to be fully repaired to my satisfaction or if that is not possible, to have the gate replaced to my satisfaction".

TBH, unless we're talking a lot of money here, I'm surprised you've been pursuing it for over 8 months.  How badly is the gate damaged if you're so concerned about it being secure yet you've put up with the damage for so long?

(I'm also inclined to agree with hollydays that the driver was probably only trying his best to do his job.  I think you're being perhaps a tad presumptious to call him stupid and lazy.  I think it's a bit much to call it trespassing too.)

hollydays

TintinQuarantino said:

hollydays,

DHL deliveries are supposed to attempt delivery 3 times (should the recipient not be at home), so no, he wasn’t trying to do me a favour - it was just laziness/not wanting to come back another day. It’s not a good idea to reward stupidity/laziness. Also, he left my property unsecured, so no I don’t feel the need to thank him 😂👍

I think we're all aware of how couriers work. Like many couriers do , he could have left it outside your house.

[Deleted User]

hollydays said:

TintinQuarantino said:

hollydays,

DHL deliveries are supposed to attempt delivery 3 times (should the recipient not be at home), so no, he wasn’t trying to do me a favour - it was just laziness/not wanting to come back another day. It’s not a good idea to reward stupidity/laziness. Also, he left my property unsecured, so no I don’t feel the need to thank him 😂👍

I think we're all aware of how couriers work. Like many couriers do , he could have left it outside your house.

Honestly, I wish he had 😂

[Deleted User]

Manxman,
The quote for a new gate was £200 (which DHL originally asked us to arrange). I don’t have that kind of money to throw around on other people’s poor decision making, unfortunately 😐

“(I think you're being perhaps a tad presumptious to call him stupid and lazy.  I think it's a bit much to call it trespassing too.)”

Na, I’ll stick with my opinion, thanks 👍 As for trespassing:  he had no right, reason, nor permission to climb over my gate into my back garden. So, yeah, trespassing.